Ross not worried about form of batsmen

New Zealand coach Ashley Ross on Monday said he was not worried by the fact that his frontline batsmen could not get big scores in the lead-up matches to the first cricket Test against India starting on Wednesday and was confident of them hitting form when it really mattered.

indiaUpdated: Oct 06, 2003 19:49 IST

Press Trust of India PTI

New Zealand coach Ashley Ross on Monday said he was not worried by the fact that his frontline batsmen could not get big scores in the lead-up matches to the first cricket Test against India starting here on Wednesday and was confident of them hitting form when it really mattered.

Ross told reporters after the net practice that the team members had prepared themselves in right earnest and were looking forward to the encounter despite their top batsmen failing in the side game at Rajkot and not even getting a chance to bat (due to rains) in the Visakhapatnam tie.

"We are not too worried about Nathan (Astle), Scott Styris and skipper Stephen Fleming not getting big scores as they are quality players and can strike form any time," he said.

"Our preparation is going on the right track and we believe in our batsmen's ability to perform in Test matches. Our frontline bowlers -- Jacob Oram and Daryel Tuffey -- too had long spells at Rajkot and have proved that they can cope up with heat and humidity over here," Ross said.

When asked about their not so impressive fielding in the three-day tie against India-A at Rajkot, Ross, said "fielding shows the attitude of the players. The players took it easy as it was just a side game. Come the Test match they will pick up their fielding standards".

Among the New Zealand batsmen, opening batsman Mark Richardson and allrounder Oram scored centuries at Rajkot while the other opening batsman Lou Vincent and Craig Mcmillan showed glimpses of their talent when they held the innings together in the second innings after their team had lost four wickets for just 39 runs.

Among the bowlers Oram and Tuffey have shown they can generate pace on Indian wickets while left arm spinner Daniel Vettori has been quite impressive in the three-day matches.

On security arrangements at the stadium, Ross said they were more than satisfied with it.

"Security and hospitality has been top class so far and we hope it will continue to be good throughout the two-match Test series and the tri-series after that," he added.

The tri-series would be played between India, New Zealand and Australia later this month.